304 SQUADRON POLISH AIR FORCE IN EXILE

[archivist]

Overnight, Keith Janes has fleshed out the details and removed the probablies from the previous posting. He has found the information on what actually happened and so I have no hesitation in resubmitting the previous item. Keith is one of England's leading authorities on escape and evasion in Europe.

BUDZYNSKI F/Lt Jerzy Dominik P-1824

Sgt Jerzi Dominik Budzynski was born on 4th August 1918 and was a wireless operator/air gunner in 300 Squadron Wellington R1705 (BH-U). On the night of 7/8th November 1941 the aircraft was damaged by flak on a raid to Mannheim and the crew baled out south of Lille. Four of the crew were captured but Budzynski and P/O Groyecki were sheltered by local civilians until they could be passed on to an organisation known as the Pat Line which took its name from Pat O’Leary which was the code name of a Belgian who was one of the main operators.

At the end of November the two crewmen joined a group of evaders who were taken across France, via Abbeville and Paris, to cross the demarcation line near Nevers into the relative safety of Unoccupied (Vichy) France and on to a Pat Line safe house at Nimes.

On 11th December Budzynski, Groyecki and three other evading servicemen were taken by train to Port Vendres, near the Spanish border. The following night, a Spanish guide took the party across the Pyrenees from Banyuls to Figueras in Spain and on to the British Consulate at Barcelona, arriving 14th December. A few days later they were driven to the British Embassy in Madrid where they stayed for Christmas and New Year before being driven to Gibraltar. Sgt Budzynski left Gibraltar on 4th March 1942 and returned to the UK on board the converted Polish liner SS Batory.

He returned to active duty in May 1942 and was transferred to 304 Squadron about a month later.

He survived the war and died on 30th March 2004 at Croyde, Devon; he was cremated at Braunton, Devon.

[frances]

Yes, Halifax JP 295 was aircraft which was shot down by night fighter on the night of 27/28 August 1944. On the 65th anniversary of this crash (last year 2009) a new monument with the names of the Polish crew from Special Duties Squadron 1586 was unveiled at the site of the crash in Banica Poland. You can read an article about this event on www.aircrewremembrancesociety.com/banicapolishmemorial.html
On 17 August 2010 there will be a commemoration to Liberator EW 275 which was shot down in Olszyny (30 kms from Banica). For many years there was a mix-up between these two aircraft resulting in the removal of bodies from the village cemetery where the Halifax crew had been buried - to be reburied in Krakow Military Cemetery under the names of two missing Liberator crew members. This error still need to be rectified.
Frances

[archivist]

Thanks for that information, Frances. The Aircrew Remembrance Society is an incredibly good organisation who are non-political and cover airmen from all sides. They are one of the best sites on the Internet in this area of research. They are all amateurs and all care with a passion about this subject. They also won't publish anything until they are absolutely sure it is accurate. I am proud to have been associated with them.

[archivist]

One to investigate! The story of a man listed as ground crew but who was actually a pilot and navigator in the Squadron. The rank shown will also be wrong but it may be that he started as ground crew and showed enough promise to become a pilot.

[archivist]

Following on from the last posting:

SKULSKI L/Ac Roman Vladimir P-704952

He was a clerk, born on 15th April 1921in Stryj, Poland (now Ukraine). He was conscripted into a civilian work battalion by the Russians on his twentieth birthday. He escaped from Stanica Krymskaya (Russia?) and made his way to Guzar, Kyrgyzstan where he joined the army of General Anders. He then reached Tehran, Persia (now Iran) where he volunteered for the Polish Air Force in England.

Although listed as a clerk he underwent pilot training at the Elementary Flying Training School at RAF Hucknall and the Intermediate Training Wing at RAF Croughton, Northamptonshire. He also passed through the Aircrew Despatch Centre at RAF Heaton Park, Manchester. He also attended the No 1 Air Observer School at Malton near Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1944. He survived the war and emigrated to Canada on 21st June 1949 and trained as a Chartered Accountant at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec and later moved to British Columbia. He died on 30th March 2008 in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

In 2007 he wrote the story of his deportation to Russia, his escape and his journey to England to join the Polish Air Force. Intriguingly the book is called "In the Soviet Union Without Toilet Paper" I have just ordered a copy from Canada and I will post more when I have read it.

[archivist]

THE EMPRESS OF CANADA

A troopship returning to England with Italian POWs, Greek refugees and Poles who had got out of Russia to join the Polish Air Force in Exile.

392 of 1346 people on board the unescorted Empress of Canada died when the Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci struck, around midnight on 13th March 1943, many of them were taken by sharks. The engines and generators stopped and the ship listed heavily to the port (left) side, meaning that only the lifeboats on one side could be launched and many were left clinging to wreckage.
On the fourth day in the water, their SOS was answered by the passenger ship Corinthia, two naval corvettes and the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Boreas. The survivors were picked up and taken to Takoradi, Gold Coast (now Ghana) and Freetown, Sierra Leone from where they continued their journey to England.
The Leonardo da Vinci was Italy’s most successful submarine; commanded by Lt Gianfranco Gazzana- Prioroggia but it was sunk with all hands just twelve weeks later after an intense depth charge barrage by the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Active and the Royal Navy frigate Ness, 300 miles west of Vigo, Spain. Ironically, about half of the casualties on the Empress of Canada were Italian POWs.
There is a story (as far as I know unsubstantiated) that the Harbour Master of Cape Town, South Africa was giving or selling information on shipping movements to the Axis powers.

The survivors had to face another month on the hostile sea

[archivist]

SKULICZ Sgt Jozef Kazimierz P-792024

He was born on 6th February 1921 at Glogow in Lower Silesia and entered pilot training at Bydgoszcz in 1937 but it was curtailed by the outbreak of war and he was evacuated from Krosno in Poland to Romania. He made it to France sometime in January 1940 and was given a posting to Marrakech in Morocco to complete his pilot training. On the capitulation of France he came to England via Casablanca and resumed his training at No3 Flying Training School before moving to the Polish Depot at Blackpool on 25th January 1942.

He started his operational training with 18OTU and was posted to 304 Squadron on 21st September 1942 at RAF Dale in Pembrokeshire where he stayed, on anti-submarine duties until th April 1944. On this date he undertook an Instructor training course. He remained ai this role until he transferred to the Polish Resettlement Corps. He was awarded the Cross of Valour twice and the Air Medal.

He survived the war and died in West London on 7th May 2008.

[archivist]

SIEDLECKI Sgt Eugeniusz P-704777

He was born 14th April 1919 at Zaborol in the Luck district. From 1935 to 1938 he trained in Bydgoszcz he trained as a radio operator/air gunner and then joined the 1st Air Regiment in Warsaw and went on to serve in the 213 and 217 Bomber Squadrons and fought in the opening campaign of the war until he was evacuated to Czerniowce aerodrome in Romania with the rest of his crew and their aircraft.

He made his way to France via Jugoslavia and Greece, arriving there on 23rd October 1939. He was posted to a reconnaissance squadron and his crew was eventually ordered to Oran in Algeria. The aircraft had to make an emergency landing in Spain where he was detained for a month before returning to France. He was demobilised and spent some time in hospital in Marseilles but the reason is not clear. He escaped from Marseilles in January 1941 and fled to Oran where he was interned for a month before being sent to another Polish detention camp in Algeria. He attempted to escape but was caught and sent to a punishment camp in the Sahara Desert where he stayed until he was liberated by Allied forces. He left Algeria at the end of November 1942 and arrived at the Polish Depot at Blackpool on 6th December 1942.

He was posted to RAF Halton where he began training as a wireless operator/air gunner and he moved on to 6OTU on 30th May 1944. He was then transferred into 304 Squadron on 8th August 1944 at the Coastal Command base at RAF Chivenor in Devon. During his career he was decorated with the Cross of Valour three times and the Air Medal.

He survived the war and was last heard of in 1948 in the USA.

[archivist]

SLOWIK Sgt Stanislaw P-703874

He was born on 20th August 1921 in the village of Kaniem near Lublin and began his infantry training in 1938 at Srem in the Province of Poznan. A year later he was moved to Lublin and later to Luck where he was captured by the Russians. He escaped and made his way back to Lublin and tried to cross the Hungarian border but was caught and handed back to the Russians who put him in prison then sent him to a labour camp. When Germany turned on Russia he was released to join the Polish Army; his route is not clear but he arrived in England on 23rd July 1942.

He began wireless operator training at the Blackpool Depot and completed his training in the No 1 Signal School and the No 8 Gunnery School. This was followed by operational training at 6OTU and a posting to 304 Squadron in Coastal Command during 1943. At the end of the following year he was transferred to Transport Command at RAF Bramcote and from there, in May 1945, he attended No 16 Service Flying Training School where he became a wireless instructor. By this time he had flown 43 operational missions.

He was awarded the Cross of Valour three times and the Air Medal twice. He was demobilised on 19th December 1948 and undertook a graphic arts course in London and put his training to use with a publishing firm in the USA after emigrating there some time after 1952.

He survived the war and died on 5th April 1995 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

[archivist]

SOLECKI Sgt Zygmunt Jan P-792899

He was born in Kolomyja on 6th May 1921 and trained as a fitter and turner before his military service which he began in 1937 at Bydgoszcz. He qualified as a wireless operator at Krosno in 1939 but because of the outbreak of war he was evacuated to Romania, crossing at Kuty. He left Romania in December 1939 and made his way via Syria and Lebanon to France where he arrived on 18th January 1940. On the capitulation of France he escaped to England where he arrived on 27th June 1940 and was sent to the Polish Depot at Blackpool. He underwent further wireless and gunnery training and then operational training with 18OTU.

He was posted in to 304 Squadron on 26th April 1942 at RAF Lindholme where he served until 1st August 1943 and completed his tour of duty before moving to 6OTU as an instructor. On 19th July 1944 he began training with 1651 Heavy Conversion Unit where he trained on four engine heavy bombers before moving on to 1586 (Special Duties) Flight at Brindisi in Italy until the end of the war. After this he moved on to various ferry units and, later, 206, 242 and 242 Transport Squadrons and later he was involved in the Berlin Airlift. Finally he joined 40 Transport Squadron in March 1948 and stayed with them until his demobilisation in October 1948.

He was awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari and the Cross of Valour three times in his career. This was achieved during 52 operational missions with 304 Squadron and 22 particularly dangerous Special Duties trips with 1586 Flight (301 Squadron).

He settled in Britain and worked in aprominent position in a shipbreakers yard until he retired in 1986. He died in Neath, West Glamorgan, Wales on 28th February 2005 and was cremated there.

[archivist]

STENDERA Sgt Jozef P-705623

He was born on 6th March 1918 in Bochum, Germany and, after completing his education in Poland, he trained in electrical engineering. Whilst training, he organised a gliding club at the college and took A and B glider pilot certificates. Following this he enrolled for military training at Bydgoszcz in 1935, qualifying as a radio mechanic in 1938. He was then posted to the 1st Air Regiment at Warsaw, moving to Terespol aerodrome near Lublin in Eastern Poland where he fought against the invading Russians. He was taken prisoner but escaped and made his way to Lwow and joined the Armia Krajowa.

In June 1940 he was injured in a gun battle with Soviet border guards whilst trying to cross into Hungary. He was sentenced to 15 years hard labour and sent to Siberia. Reports are not clear on whether he escaped or was released to join the Polish Army. However, he made his way to England by way of Persia (now Iran), Iraq, India and South Africa. This included being torpedoed on the Empress of Canada on the way from Durban to England; he arrived in Liverpool in April 1943 and was sent to the Polish Depot at Blackpool.

After several months of wireless and gunnery training and operational training with 6OTU, he was posted to 304 Squadron on 12th January 1945 at Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides where he was engaged in anti-submarine warfare. In September 1945 he moved to 16 Ferry Unit where he delivered Avro Ansons and Vickers Warwicks to Egypt and remained in service until 1948. During his service he was awarde the Silver Cross of Merit with Swords and the Air Medal twice.

After his demobilisation he settled in England and worked in an engineering factory: he died in Ipswich, Suffolk on 19th October 1999.

[archivist]

SZANTROCH F/Sgt Zdzislaw Jan P-793313

He was born on 22nd June 1916 in Warsaw and after completing his formal education he trained in building and construction before enrolling for military training at Bydgoszcz in 1933. Three years later he qualified as a wireless operator and was posted to the 1st Air Regiment in Warsaw. On 1st June 1936 he enlisted for bomber training and was attached to 214 Bomber Squadron, later being posted to 222 Squadron with whom he served in the opening campaign of the war.

He escaped to France via Romania, arriving there on 1st April 1940; two months later he made his way, by an unknown route, to England. He was first received at RAF Eastchurch and was sent for wireless and gunnery training before joinin 18OTU for his operational training. He was posted to 304 squadron on 14th December 1940 which was at the end of its two week transit period between RAF Bramcote and RAF Syerston. He arrived on the day of the squadron’s first loss (due to a training accident).

After completing his tour of duty, he moved back to 18OTU on 7th April 1942 and on 7th October of that year he was sent to the Isle of Man (probably RAF Jurby) for aircraft recognition training after which he joined 6OTU as an instructor on 25th November 1942. In June 1943 he moved to No 30 Maintenance Unit and later he was sent to RAF Brighton for weapons training.

After the war, and his demobilisation in February 1948, he settled in England and trained in gemmology at London Polytechnic after which he set up his own jewellery business. He died on 28th November 1999.

During his tour of duty he was awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari on 21st November 1941 by Air Vice Marshall Ujejski. He also won the Cross of Valour four times, the Air Medal and the British Distinguished Flying Medal.

[archivist]

TEUBERT W/O Witold Henryk P-794380

He was born on 12th January 1917 in Gniezno in Poznan province He joined the aviation school at Bydgoszcz in 1933 and qualified as an aircraft mechanic in 1936. After that he was posted to the 1st Air Regiment at Warsaw and joined 221 Bomber Eskadra at Malaszewice from where he fought in the opening campaign of the war.

He was captured by the Russians and sent to the Prison camp at Szepietowka in the Russian interior. After Germany attacked their Russian allies in the summer of 1941 he was presumably released as he sailed for England from Archangelsk on 26th September 1941. On arrival he volunteered as aircrew and undertook training as a navigator. After further training, including operational and combat training, with Coastal Command 3OTU at RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire.

On 5th March 1944 he was posted to 304 Squadron at RAF Chivenor, Devon; he stayed with them until July 1944 when he transferred to 6OTU as an instructor. He developed a serious illness and was sent to the RAF Weeton hospital where he died on 3rd July 1945 at the early age of 28. He was buried in Talbot Road Cemetery, Layton, Blackpool.

[archivist]

Ref previous posting: Teubert only flew operationally for three months but won the Air Medal twice in that short time.

[archivist]

SZWEDOWSKI Sgt Roman P-792213

He was born on 28th February 1921 in Koscierzyna, Pomerania (formerly a province of Prussia). In 1938 he joined the aviation school in Swiecie but on the outbreak of war he was evacuated to Romania. It is uncertain whether he was interned there but he made his way, via Malta, to France where he arrived in late November 1939. On the fall of France he made his way to England. He probably travelled via St Jean de Luz and arrived in Liverpool on 27th June 1940.

He completed his pilot training in England and in September 1942 he began navigator training at RAF Harrogate in North Yorkshire. He then joined 6OTU at RAF Thornaby on Tees, North Yorkshire (now Cleveland) and later RAF Silloth in Cumberland (now Cumbria) for operational and combat training.

On 6th May 1943 he was posted to 304 Squadron at RAF Docking in Norfolk and stayed with them for three months before undergoing more training and then a posting to 1586 Special Duties Flight on 9th November 1943 at Brindisi, Italy. He stayed with them until August 1944 when he joined 18OTU as an instructor at RAF Faldingworth, Lincolnshire.

On his final demobilisation in 1948 he settled in England and changed his name to Ron Ashley and worked as a civil engineer in the construction industry. During his military career he was awarded the Cross of Valour three times and the Air Medal.